Good morning!
I have a tropical fish tank, containing Dwarf Cichlids [Macasterii and Borellii], "Blue Eyes", Gouramis, 80+ Shrimp, Guppies and lots of plants. The tank is 150L [understocked] with a curved front and two built-in 450mm T5 fittings and a 250L rated canister filter.
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The T5 bulbs aren't very bright, don't last long and are expensive, so I am thinking of going to full LED as the investment will pay off in the long run. I am looking for ways to [u]easily[/u] add full spectrum, high power LED lighting.
Further details:I have added 20W of extra LEDs [homebrew on heatsinks] sitting just over the water behind the T5s and they're really good light, but because they're rebuilt GU10 units they're not waterproof and don't fit into the lid properly so they're not a permanent solution.
With so many shrimp in the tank I need a lot of algae growth, and I would like to have a powerful long-term solution I can run below capacity, or to add floating plants too and turn the power up.
Has anyone tried generic Chinese LED units from EBay etc, like the SunSpect:
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If I buy such a unit, it will need to be hung above the tank and I will have to take the lid off [if the fish try jumping I would add a fine net?] this looks like the easiest way to get the lighting I want.
The SunSpect units are quite boxy, so I guess I would have to try to spread the light out a little if I wanted even tank lighting. I was thinking about buying a sheet Fresnel lens and cutting it up to make a custom beam pattern? Or just laying one over the top of the tank. Ideally I'd find something just like the unit above, but twice as wide and half as deep, to better illuminate the shape of the tank, but my budget is very limited!
I have also seen other DIY options, like buying a 15m LED sticky-strip and winding that around the old T5s as a former, but I am doubtful of having enough power to really stimulate the plants, but I could be wrong? I'm going for midday sun as a maximum setting, to really wind up the growth.
Has anyone got any experience or products that I should research or know about? Other thoughts or DIY options? I *could* do a scratch built unit, but it would have to be bloody perfect to beat the value of the above light.
Bonus pic - two Cichlids
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Video on these light units.
I have recently changed T8's to T8 LEDs from Classica Arcadia. Claim to have 5 x the power/reach etc of Fluorescents.
My plants certainly seem to be responding well and meant didn't have to change the hood as can just slot into existing unit. Not sure if they do the same for T5 or not?
I have recently changed T8's to T8 LEDs from Classica Arcadia. Claim to have 5 x the power/reach etc of Fluorescents.
My plants certainly seem to be responding well and meant didn't have to change the hood as can just slot into existing unit. Not usre if they do the same for T5 or not?
There are some, however I think they're about 20W each at 450mm, so it's quite a bit weaker than I wanted :/
Thanks though.
Evening bump?
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110 euro, delivered 🙂 "SunSpect"
(Testing the setup, so it's a bit messy)
With the blue at 40%, it's much brighter than the T5's
Nice. I have guppies under (white) LEDs. Bootiful fish.
Still going after two months with great results for the plants and the overwhelming hordes of shrimp.